425: Chapter 425 Let's Get Useful

Inside the command hall, the atmosphere instantly dropped from joyous to freezing.

Sun Feng pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose, and the lenses reflected a cold light.

"According to the synchronized comparison between White Jade Capital and the actual Qinling Base, the error rate is less than 0.01 percent."

Zhang Yunhai spoke up to add.

"Furthermore, Comrade Lin Miao also visited White Jade Capital about two hours ago, and based on her feedback, she did not encounter any time acceleration."

"In other words..." Sun Feng tapped the tabletop, "The one that truly has a problem is the City of Gods."

The flow of time in the City of Gods is different from other places.

Chen You sat in his chair, his brow furrowed into a knot.

"This doesn't make sense logically." He shook his head in rebuttal, "My main body has been in the training room in reality, and I didn't feel any time skips at all."

"My clone and my main body share consciousness; it's impossible for me not to have noticed such a time difference."

"My physical sensation is just that I went to the bathroom; there is absolutely no feeling of long-term consumption."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell into deep thought.

"There is nothing illogical about it."

Director Li Guoan unscrewed his thermos, blew on the floating goji berries, and took a sip.

As the warm tea went down, his voice remained steady without any fluctuation.

"Little Chen, have you ever played single-player games?" Director Li Guoan looked up at Chen You.

"I have."

"In a single-player game, is it hard for the system to modify your local time display or directly lock your status bar?"

A chill suddenly shot up Chen You's back.

"This is the Source Realm; in a sense, the Source Realm's system can do anything."

Director Li Guoan set down the thermos, making a dull thud.

"On its turf, shielding your senses and deceiving your neurons to make you think only ten minutes have passed is simply as easy as turning over one's hand."

Chen You swallowed hard, having thought of something.

"It can not only shield your perception but also silently steal your life." Director Li Guoan's tone was calm, yet every word was piercing.

He held up four fingers and waved them in front of Chen You.

"In this 'bathroom' trip of yours, a whole day is gone."

"Your newbie protection period has only four days left."

Four days.

Upon hearing these two words, Chen You instantly became alert.

Too hasty, too hasty!

What kind of bullshit 'Lack of Virtue', this system is the one that truly lacks virtue!

You're playing dirty, huh!

Director Li Guoan looked at Chen You, cutting straight to the point: "In four days, can you break through to the Golden Core stage?"

According to the think tank's previous deductions, only by reaching the Golden Core stage can one ensure not being manipulated by other players.

Chen You pulled a bitter face and shook his head frantically.

"Director Li, I am currently at the early stage of Foundation Establishment, and it will probably take more than a day to reach the middle stage of Foundation Establishment."

Chen You brought up his attribute panel.

"In 4 days, at most, I can reach the late stage of Foundation Establishment."

The conference room fell silent once again.

Four days, late Foundation Establishment.

Facing the level 90 big shots on the leaderboard, this level of cultivation is probably not enough.

Once the protection period ends, even if the clone won't die, the gaming experience will inevitably be terrible.

Those big shots won't just watch Chen You overtake them like this; it will be hard to move an inch by then.

"Understood."

Director Li Guoan nodded, without any panic.

He stood up and walked under the Map of Mountains and Rivers.

"No matter how the game changes, our core philosophy must not change."

Director Li Guoan turned around, staring at Chen You with eyes like torches.

"Uranus asking you to choose a reward is likely not really about rewarding you."

"Those rewards... are all bait."

Chen You was stunned: "Bait?"

"Yes." Director Li Guoan sneered.

"These things are all products within the system framework."

"Giving you a divine artifact, with level-restricted attributes."

"Giving you a Heaven-tier cultivation technique, it still won't directly raise your realm."

"It is using these seemingly generous rewards to delay your time and drain your energy."

"As long as you hesitate for one more minute in the City of Gods, who knows how long will have passed outside."

"By the time you finish choosing your rewards and come out, the newbie protection period might already be gone."

Chen You gasped.

It really seems to be like that!

"Then what should I do? I won't take anything?" Chen You asked.

"Take it! And take the most core thing." Director Li Guoan pressed his hands on the table.

"Forget about magic treasures and equipment; go back and ask him directly if he can extend the newbie protection period."

"Huh?" Chen You was dumbfounded, "This... will this work? The newbie protection period is the system's underlying logic, right?"

"This is a test." Zhang Yunhai chimed in from the side, "If Uranus can modify the protection period, it means his authority is extremely high, touching the core code of the Source Realm. If he can't..."

"If he can't, it means his authority is also limited, and he can't give you anything that can break the rules." Director Li Guoan continued Zhang Yunhai's thought, "Then lingering there is just a waste of life."

Sun Feng slapped the table and exclaimed admiringly: "Director Li's move is called 'driving straight in'. It doesn't play by the rules and points directly to the core of the problem."

Director Li Guoan looked at Chen You with a solemn expression.

"Little Chen, remember. In the face of an absolute survival crisis, all external things are hollow."

"What we want is time, is life."

"For every minute you stay in the City of Gods, several hours might have passed outside."

"Don't waste time; go back and make your request directly. If it works, it works; if not, leave immediately, never drag things out."

Chen You took a deep breath, his eyes becoming firm once again.

"Understood! Don't be greedy for small advantages, aim straight for the core." Chen You took a deep breath, "Then I'm heading back."

"Go." Director Li Guoan sat back in his chair, "Remember, safety first."

...

City of Gods, Central Hall.

The space rippled, and Chen You's figure landed steadily on the ground.

The hall remained silent, with two rows of ten-meter-tall level 100 guards standing like statues.

On the throne, Uranus rested his chin on one hand, his gaze calmly overlooking the reappearing Chen You.

For Uranus, Chen You really had only gone to the "bathroom", with only a few seconds passing in between.

"Lack of Virtue, have you thought it through?" Uranus's voice echoed in the hall, carrying the ethereal and majestic quality unique to a god.

"What do you want; have you decided?"

Chen You stood up straight, looking directly into Uranus's eyes.

"City Lord, I have thought it through."

Chen You's voice was not loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the vast hall.

"I want time."

He raised his hand and pointed to the countdown panel above his head that only he knew about.

"My newbie protection period is about to end."

"Since you, City Lord, are the embodiment of the rules, can you help me extend this protection period indefinitely?"

The air in the hall solidified completely at this moment.

The armor on the two rows of level 100 guards emitted a harsh grating sound, as if they would draw their swords at any moment to hack this arrogant ant into mincemeat.

Uranus stared fixedly at Chen You, and deep in his eyes, a kind of blue light resembling underlying code began to flicker frantically.